Jets Ready To Trade Sanchez

NY Jets ready to get rid of Mark Sanchez, will explore trade market for former first round pick

Less than four years after the Jets made a franchise-changing decision to move up in the draft for Mark Sanchez, they will attempt to trade the struggling quarterback after the season.

One day after Rex Ryan benched Sanchez for third-stringer Greg McElroy for Sunday’s game against the Chargers, the Daily News has learned that the Jets will explore trading the player that they once believed would be their franchise quarterback.

It’s a stunning reality for a team that enjoyed the success of back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances in Sanchez’s first two seasons. The Jets’ decision to look for trading partners doesn’t eliminate the possibility that he could be back in 2013 and still compete for the starting job.

In order for the Jets to pull off a deal, they would almost certainly have to absorb the bulk of Sanchez’s guaranteed $8.25 million base salary for 2013. The likely out-of-pocket ceiling for potential suitors would be $3 million.

The Jets’ need to replace Sanchez with a veteran signal caller could lead them to another player who has fallen on hard times recently.

The News has learned that Michael Vick, who is expected to be released by the Eagles shortly after the season, would be amenable to coming to the Jets if Sanchez is out of the equation.

“Bring it on,” one Jets source said about signing Vick if he becomes available. “He was hit too many times (behind a subpar offensive line) the last two years.”

Rex Ryan may be the X-Factor to land Vick, according to sources. Ryan has always had an affinity for Vick, who could potentially help save the coach from getting his walking papers after the 2013 season.

“(Ryan) loves him,” a team official said.

The Jets’ solid offensive line and defense also make them an attractive option for Vick, who lost his starting job after suffering a concussion this season.

No matter which quarterback the Jets bring in to either replace or compete with Sanchez (if he’s not traded), Ryan will place special emphasis on ball security. Sanchez has a league-high 50 turnovers in the last 30 games.

“Our big thing is turning the football over,” Ryan said on Wednesday. “If you can point at one thing that we have to do better as a football team, and Mark has to do as a quarterback, that’s the thing I would look at: We have to protect the football. File that in the ‘No Kidding’ deal, but that’s the truth.”

Sanchez’s career arc has been unusual, to say the least. Expectations sky-rocketed after he won four road playoff games over his first two seasons. He had a 3:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in six playoff games, tantalizing the franchise for what could lie ahead.

“Mark’s won games in this league. It’s not like he hasn’t,” Ryan said. “It’s hard to win playoff games in this league, and he’s got four of them all on the road. Wins against Peyton Manning on the road. Wins against Tom Brady. It’s not like he doesn’t have the tools to do it. That’s why we did take him with the fifth overall pick.”

Ryan praised Sanchez for having “the athleticism to be a tremendous quarterback,” but his penchant for giving up the ball was the breaking point for the coach. Sanchez revealed on Wednesday that Ryan relayed the news of his benching in the post-game locker room after his five-turnover performance in a 14-10 loss to the Titans on Monday.

“It’s not like a debate,” Sanchez said. “He’s the head man and he makes the decisions.”

Sanchez took scout-team reps in practice for the first time in his career Wednesday as McElroy prepared for his first career start. He didn’t speculate about his future with the team or address whether he felt hampered by lack of offensive weapons this season.

“I’m not going to make excuses,” Sanchez said. “At the end of the day, no matter what kind of situation that you’re in, the quarterback has the ball and it’s my job to make good decisions with the football regardless of personnel situation. I’m not going to go there. Is every interception the quarterback’s fault? Of course not. But they’re attributed to the quarterback. It goes as my stat. You live with that. You own up to your side of the mistakes and you move on.”

It was probably a surreal day for Sanchez, but he reiterated that his primary focus was to help McElroy prepare for his big moment.

“It’s different than what I expected in August,” Sanchez said. “But it’ll somehow work out. Make me better. Make me stronger.”

Even if it is not with the Jets.

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The Jets’ need to replace Sanchez with a veteran signal caller could lead them to another player who has fallen on hard times recently. The News has learned that Michael Vick, who is expected to be released by the Eagles shortly after the season, would be amenable to coming to the Jets if Sanchez is out of the equation.

This isn't Fantasyland and we aren't at DisneyWorld. No one and I mean no one is going to trade for Sanchez. Jets would have to pay most of his salary to that team and that would add to the 8 million hit we get on the cap. Figure we would take a $14 to $15 million cap hit. If we release him June 1 we take a $12 million cap hit. Duh

My guess is we release him or leave him where he is as the backup QB. That way we take an $8 million hit and the extra money can be used elsewhere. I say give McElroy his shot - a real shot to be the QB and use the money on other things like Landry, Revis, rookies and maybe an opportune free agent.

But - and here's the rub - this organization is so illogical that what everyone else sees in a minute they can't see in a season. They're going to jump at things again and just keep the mess going.

Hard as it is, Woody needs to fire Tannenbaum (or reassign him), fire Rex and leave Sanchez as the backup. He needs to bring in a football mind at GM and leave getting a coach to him. Then they can clean some house of guys like Scott, Thomas, Keller, Greene and maybe even Pace as these guys are either old or free agents. Draft defense and sad as it is - start again but with a solid defense, a decent runner in Powell, a change of pace runner in McKnight, WR's Edwards, Kerley, Holmes and TE Cumberland (he's not bad at all).

But watch as they go after either Smith, Flynn or Vick and waste more money.

Who, in their right mind wants him for that price tag, plus I read that if Jets trade him they're still on the hook for an $8.9M cap hit...not sure how that's possible. To address the second part of the story regarding bringing in Michael Vick...no surprise that Jets ownership will be infatuated with the notion of bringing him in to sell seats. Of course this move would be another in the wrong direction. If Jets somehow can get rid of Sanchez and cut ties with Tebow (likely), they should see if they could sign a qb to a 1 yr deal (not Vick) and let McElroy duke it out for the starting job...then see how 2013 goes...if it's lousy, then look to the draft or the next crop of FA qbs. I am not saying that McElroy is the second coming of Brady, but they've got nothing to lose in giving him a real shot to see what he's got.

Well, Well, Well....I don't think there is a good market for Sanchez. I would wonder if Pete Carrol would consider him? (I know that Seattle looks OK at QB right now)
It would be interesting to see if there would be anyone out there that would take the risk and bring Sanchez in. I personally think Sanchez will do better starting "FRESH" somewhere, maybe outside of the NY Market?

My concern is, Is McElroy the guy? Tebow? I dont think Rex has much hope in either one of them?

Yes, it's really over. Less than a year after the Jets renewed their vows with quarterback Mark Sanchez via a contract extension that bound the player and team together for at least two seasons, the Jets will try to foist the balance of said contract extension onto a new team after only one.

A trade makes the most sense. Apart from the face-saving value of getting something in return for the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft, trading Sanchez would reduce both the cap charge and the cash expenditure. As it stands, Sanchez is due to earn a base salary of $8.25 million in 2013, along with a workout bonus of $500,000. Since the base salary is fully guaranteed, the Jets will owe Sanchez the full $8.25 million even if he's cut, with no offset even if he signs elsewhere.

The goal will be to try to persuade a new team to shoulder a portion of the financial burden. Mehta believes the limit for a trade partner will be in the range of $3 million.

Under our analysis of the potential cap hits from keeping, cutting, or trading Sanchez, trading him before June 1 to a team that would pay him $3 million in 2013 would still result in a cap charge of more than $14 million, which is more than the cap hit that would come from cutting Sanchez.

It's also more than 10 percent of the total 2013 cap for a guy who wouldn't even be on the team.

Trading Sanchez raises another issue beyond the 2013 season. With a contract that pays Sanchez $11.5 million in compensation come 2014, $14 million in 2015, and $11.25 million in 2016, his next team likely wouldn't keep him for a second season, barring a significant restructuring.

As the Jets weigh their options regarding quarterback Mark Sanchez, some are suggesting that the cap hit associated with trading or cutting him would outweigh the cost of keeping him.

So let's make sense of the cap situation, from three perspectives: (1) if Sanchez stays on the team; (2) if he's cut; and (3) if he's traded.

If Sanchez stays on the team, the Jets will owe him a guaranteed base salary of $8.25 million and a workout bonus of $500,000 in 2013. His total cap number of $12.853 million for next season includes a $2.5 million proration from a guaranteed payment made in 2010, along with a $1.6 million proration from the $8 million signing bonus Sanchez received in March.

If the Jets cut Sanchez before June 1, they can designate the move as a post-June 1 transaction (each team can do that with two players per year). This would defer $4.8 million in dead money from the March 2012 signing bonus to 2014. Because, however, Sanchez's base salary for 2013 is fully guaranteed with no offset, the cap charge for 2013 would still be $12.353 million, with only the $500,000 workout bonus avoided.

Cutting him before June 1 without the post-June 1 designation would result in a cap hit of $17.1 million. He would then be off the books for 2014.

A trade before June 1 would trigger an immediate cap charge of $8.9 million, along with any portion of the $8.25 million in guaranteed salary that the Jets would have to pay in order to make the trade happen. If, for example, the Jets ship Sanchez to Arizona and the Jets agree to pay $5.25 million of the base salary while the Cardinals pay the remaining $3 million, the total cap hit for the Jets would be $14.15 million.

Perhaps the best outcome for the Jets would be to persuade another team to assume half of the $8.25 million base salary, which would allow the Jets to save some cash while also approximating the cap hit they'll absorb if he's on the team but not playing in 2013.

Of course, the biggest challenge could be finding a team that would be willing to pay more than $4 million for Sanchez in 2013, especially since his contract carries $11.5 million in compensation come 2014, $14 million in 2015, and $11.25 million in 2016.